Global trade and travel are making it easier for more and more plant species to find new habitats. Many of these so-called alien plan species are harmless, cause no damage and fit into the existing environment without any problems. If these species displace native species or change the habitats so that other species are affected, they are labelled invasive.

As highly adapted species of the beach, dune or salt marsh habitats, the plants of the East Frisian Islands may be particularly at risk of such habitat changes or even complete habitat loss. The occurrence of invasive alien plant species has been known and documented there since the 2000s. Our research project is dedicated to the question of the extent to which invasive alien plant species affect the biodiversity and stability of ecosystems and attempts to identify new ways of managing invasive species.